When conventional hair sprays are used, a large amount of a hair styling polymer is usually sprayed to hair to fix it therewith. In this method, however, the polymer fixes hair strands in a bundle so that people using it feel dissatisfied with a stiff or hard feel of the hair treated therewith. In addition, when the fixed point is once broken by combing the hair with fingers or a brush after hairstyling, the hair cannot be restored to its original coiffure. As a hair spray capable of styling hair without stiffness, a hair spray containing fixing polymer and a plasticizer, the latter being added to control the glass transition point of the polymer, is proposed (refer to JP-A-07-145023). This hair spray, however, does not permit re-styling of the hair, because the adhesion of a film formed on the hair surface is insufficient.
Styling agents such as hair wax hold styles by an adhesive force of oil contained therein, so natural and non-sticky finish can be obtained. The adhesive power of the oil is, however, much weaker than the sticking power of a hair styling polymer, so it is therefore difficult to maintain the desired style. Hair styling making use of the adhesive power of the oil cannot sustain a soft and natural finish although the original coiffure can be restored by combing it with fingers or a brush. A hair cosmetic composition containing adhesive components including both a polymer compound and an oily component and thereby having an adhesive power exceeding a certain level is proposed as a composition capable of giving hair a natural hold without firmly setting hair and being excellent in hair style retention (JP-A-11-116443). This composition is, however, accompanied with the drawbacks that re-styling property is low owing to insufficient adhesion and the hair cannot acquire a soft and light finish even after treated with the composition.